Course detail

Practical English 4

FEKT-BPC-PA4Acad. year: 2025/2026

The course Practical English 4 focuses on the development of reading, listening, speaking and writing skills with particular emphasis on complex grammar and vocabulary at the C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), while also introducing elements of the C2 level. It is based on learning materials and requirements of the international Cambridge Advanced English (CAE) and Cambridge Proficiency English (CPE) exams. The course continues the course Practical English 3 (BPC-PA3). 

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Entry knowledge

Language proficiency at the level B2+ according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and successful completion of the course Practical English 3 (BPC-PA 3) are required.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

To be eligible for admission to the exam, students must meet the following criteria: have at least 75% attendance, actively participate in classes, complete all assigned tasks, and pass a credit test. The credit test requires a minimum score of 24 points out of a possible 40 points.

Course assessment in points:

  • Credit Test: Use of English (max. 40 points, cut-off score 24 pts; students are allowed only one resit).
  • Exam: Listening (max. 30 pts, cut-off score 15 pts), Reading (max. 30 pts, cut-off score 15pts).

The content and forms of instruction and assessment are specified by a regulation issued by the course supervisor and updated for every academic year.

Aims

The course objectives and output requirements are formulated at a minimum level of C1 (Effective Operational Proficiency) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

A course graduate can:
- understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning;
- express themselves fluently, precisely and spontaneously;
- use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes;
- can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

Speaking
A course graduate:
- can give clear, detailed descriptions and presentations on complex subjects, integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.

Listening
A course graduate:
- can understand enough to follow extended speech on abstract and complex topics beyond their own field;
- can recognise a wide range of idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms, appreciating register shifts;
- can follow extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly.

Reading
A course graduate:
- can understand in detail lengthy, complex texts, whether or not they relate to his/her own area of speciality, provided he/she can reread difficult sections.

Writing
A course graduate:
- can write clear, well-structured texts of complex subjects, underlining the relevant salient issues;
- can expand and support points of view at some length with subsidiary points, reasons and relevant examples, and round off with an appropriate conclusion. 

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

ELLEDEROVÁ, Eva. CAE Use of English Practice – A Set of Four Parts: 111x Multiple-Choice Cloze, 111x Open Cloze, 111x Word Formation, 111x Key Word Transformation. Brno: VUT FEKT, 2015.
ELLEDEROVÁ, Eva. Grammar and Word Formation for CAE – Survey and Practice. Brno: VUT FEKT, 2015.
ELLEDEROVÁ, Eva. Practical English HPA 4 - Grammar, Vocabulary and Phrases. Brno: VUT FEKT, 2019.
Practical English 4 - Learning Materials - Compilation

Recommended reading

HEWINGS, Martin. Advanced grammar in use: a self-study reference and practice book for advanced learners of English : with answers and CD-ROM. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-107-69989-2.
Longman phrasal verbs dictionary. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2000. ISBN 0582291828.
O'DELL, Felicity a Michael MCCARTHY. English collocations in use: advanced : how words work together for fluent and natural English : self-study and classroom use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. ISBN 9780521707800.
POWELL, Debra. Common mistakes at CAE: --and how to avoid them. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Cambridge books for Cambridge exams. ISBN 0521603773.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BPC-APE Bachelor's 2 year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Language exercise

52 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

  1. Grammar: present tenses; Vocabulary: feelings and emotions, adjectives and nouns with “-self”; Idioms: personality
  2. Grammar: past tenses, adverbs and adverbial phrases; Vocabulary: travel; Idioms: making stories interesting; Exam Practice – Reading and Use of English: parts 1–4
  3. Grammar: future tenses, “will”, “shall” and “would”; Vocabulary: phrasal verbs, noun collocations, prepositional phrases with “at”, “in”, “on” and “under”; Idioms: innovation
  4. Grammar: modal verbs 1, noun phrases and nominal clauses; Vocabulary: partitive expressions with uncountable nouns, closed compounds; Idioms: negotiation; Exam Practice – Reading and Use of English: parts 5–7
  5. Grammar: cohesion, demonstratives; Vocabulary: neutral and sensationalist language, binominals; Idioms: communication
  6. Grammar: conditional clauses; Vocabulary: expressions and phrases with “pay”, “rise” and “fall”; Idioms: money and wealth; Exam Practice – Listening: parts 1–3 
  7. Grammar: modal verbs 2, adjectives and fixed expressions; Vocabulary: phrasal verbs of deduction and investigation, verbs of confusion and deceit; Idioms: mystery
  8. Grammar: comparatives, expressing contrast; Vocabulary: environment collocations; Idioms: noticing similarities and differences
  9. Grammar: expressing contrast, concession, purpose and reason clauses, passive and causative structures; Vocabulary: Prepositional phrases with “by”, “in” and “out of”, describing art and architecture; Idioms: art and creativity; Speaking practice for Cambridge exam: parts 1–3
  10. Grammar: inversion, creating emphasis and cleft sentences; Vocabulary: describing books and films, similes; Idioms: from literature
  11. Grammar: reporting structures; Vocabulary: city dwelling, phrasal verbs for problems and solutions, Idioms: “talk” and “tell”
  12. Grammar: participle clauses, verb patterns; Vocabulary: health and fitness, multi-word verbs; Idioms: sports
  13. Review Lesson

Note: Listening practice (multiple choice, sentence completion, multiple matching) and speaking practice (interviews, long turns, collaborative tasks and discussions) are included in every lesson.